What is an Assessment?
Guest Post: Ryan McAbee, Pixel Dot Consulting and The Print University
Every production printing organization is a dynamic, living and breathing entity. By the simple truth that printing is small-batch manufacturing, nothing remains constant. Customers turnover. Job-to-job can have completely different specifications. Software and equipment are replaced with advancements in technology. Lately, your staff may be turning over at higher rates than in the past, too.
To be resilient to constant changes, you need solid processes powered by workflow automation. Too often, work gets done because of the heroics of your employees. At best, those employees get burnt out over time from their Herculean efforts. At worst, the heroics lead to inefficiencies and errors in production that result in significant cost overruns. What is the solution, then? You need a flexible, process-driven system that enhances your employees and capabilities, not one that is people-driven. Start with an assessment!
An operational assessment captures and documents your current state of processes, people, and technology used from the point of the customer’s request until the job is completed and delivered.
What happens in an assessment?
Understanding your current production processes requires capturing the who, what, when, where, and why required for each task. You should walk your workflow for the applications that represent most of your order volume (not print volume). The goal is to streamline the type of work you most often produce. Remember, the process starts from the initial customer interaction, whether with one of your sales team members or through an online storefront. Experience shows that upfront sales and administration tasks are where significant improvement can be made. Most print operations have spent years or decades improving their printing processes, so there is less opportunity for improvement.
For each task, you want to capture the people involved, when they interact, how they interact, where they interact, and why they interact. For example, what happens after the salesperson captures the order specifications from the client? Do they call or email the salesperson immediately or wait to have an in-person conversation when back at the shop? Or do they use a submission portal that starts the Request For Quote (RFQ) process in the print management solution? As you can see, there is a lot of variability in how tasks can be done, and you will likely find that there is also variability between your staff.
Asking these questions uncovers the processes that must occur for the job to be onboarded, produced, and delivered. Once the processes are documented, gather a cross-functional team representing members from every department to workshop the findings. Are the tasks optimized, or are there better ways to perform them? Is the task even necessary? Do the tasks result in process loops that can be eliminated like the back-and-forth communications between the estimator/CSR and sales to capture the job specifications fully? Do not skip or fast-track the workshop since this is how you find bottlenecks in the current system and make improvements toward a process-driven one.
Discovering and documenting the software and tools used for each task is also critical. You must understand if employees are using the tools provided. Are the tools used as intended, or are they underutilized? Are they using general-purpose tools like Microsoft Excel because some functionality is missing in your primary software, or do they not understand how to use that feature? Avoid using general-purpose software since it limits visibility and collaboration with other staff. The same evaluation extends to the physical tools and equipment used on the production floor. Most modern equipment can be integrated to speed up makeready and optimize printing. The equipment may also have assistive technologies like in-line spectrophotometers or other sensors to ensure quality and track productivity.
Who performs the assessment?
Another consideration is, who should perform your assessment? There are three primary options. Here are the pros and considerations for each:
| Who performs assessment? | Pros | Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Staff member | Low-cost Familiar with staff and operation Can act as implementation lead post-assessment | No formal training, experience, or proven process Added on top of existing job functions May inadvertently introduce bias |
| Vendor | Experience with other printers A standardized assessment process is likely used May have some familiarity with your operation | Cannot bring best practices from other types of printers or vendors in the market May introduce bias toward process or technology to favor vendor’s solution set Costs |
| Independent Consultant | Formal, standard process to complete assessment More holistic view of the print market Can apply best practices from across production printing segments and experience | Time required to understand your operation Expertise in markets you serve Costs |
Finally, remember that an assessment captures the current state of your print operation. It is a snapshot in time. When variables change, the processes, people, and technology surrounding that change should be revisited. New equipment with improved capabilities, software updates that provide better efficiency or new features, and key staff changes, are perfect times to reassess your production workflow. Get started now on your path to continuous improvement!
Ryan McAbee
Ryan McAbee is the principal at Pixel Dot Consulting, a firm that partners with companies in the production printing industry to ‘Elevate print through tech.’ We help OEMs and PSPs define and build their future through consulting, market analysis, product strategy, sales enablement, and industry education services. Ryan has spent over 20 years immersed in the technology that powers print, working with a wide range of well-known and industry leading vendors and print service providers.
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